Baseball

BEREA, OHIO -- Baldwin-Wallace College senior baseball standouts Pat Shannon (Madison, Connecticut/ Daniel Hand High School) and Jim Leffler (Chagrin Falls High School) were named to the 2003 NCAA Division III All-Mideast Region team as selected by the coaches in the Mideast Region. Both Shannon and Leffler ended outstanding careers both on the diamond and in the classroom this spring.

Shannon, a first baseman who recently graduated with a degree in business administration and will go to work at American Express as a financial advisor, was a second-team selection. Leffler, a shortstop who graduated with a degree in sport management, was a third-team pick. It was the third straight year that both players were named to the All-Mideast Region squad.

In addition, Shannon and Leffler were key contributors to a Yellow Jacket program that has had four straight 20-win seasons and an overall record of 91-61-1 during their careers. Also, Shannon and Leffler served as a team captains in 2003.

Shannon ended his career as the most prolific hitter in Yellow Jacket baseball history. He set school career records for home runs (34), runs batted-in (144), most times hit-by-pitch (18), slugging percentage (.737) and putouts (822). He also tied the career mark for doubles (38). He set single-season marks for homers (16) and RBI (49) as a junior in 2002 and doubles (18) as a senior in 2003.

As a freshman in 2000, Shannon split time between the varsity and junior varsity teams and batted .429 in 14 at-bats with one double, one homer and four RBI. Pat earned the "Big Stick" Award and was an honorable mention All-OAC and Academic All-OAC selection and a second-team Verizon Academic All-District IV player. As a sophomore in 2001, Shannon split time between first base and designated hitter at the varsity level. He played and started in 33 games and hit .345 with 38 base hits in 110 at-bats. He also led the team in home runs with eight and runs batted in with 44. As a junior in 2002, Shannon batted .397 with eight doubles, two triples and set B-W single-season records for homers with 16 and RBI with 49. He was named as a first-team All-OAC player, second-team Academic All-OAC, second-team Verizon Academic All-District IV, second-team All-Mideast Region and as the B-W "Big Stick" Award winner as the top hitter. As a senior, Shannon batted a team-high .407 with a single-season record 18 doubles, two triples, nine homers and 47 RBI. He was a first-team All-OAC, first-team Academic All-OAC, second-team All-Mideast Region, third-team Verizon Academic All-District IV and the B-W "Big Stick" Award winner.

For his final three years, Leffler was one of the top shortshops in Division III in terms of the total package (offense, defense and leadership). He played in 138 career games, starting 133, and ended his career fourth all-time in batting average at .373. He is also among the all-time Yellow Jacket leaders in runs scored (109), doubles (31), home runs (13) and RBI (109). Leffler was also an outstanding fielder who had a .942 career fielding percentage. He set the B-W career record for assists with 404.

As a freshman in 2000, Leffler batted .321 with six doubles in 11 runs batted-in and alternated as the starting shortstop. As a sophomore in 2001, he started shortstop and played and started in 34 games. Leffler had a team-leading .430 with eight doubles, three triples, three home runs, 36 runs scored and 35 RBI. He also had a solid year defensively with a .943 fielding percentage. For his efforts, Leffler was a first-team All-OAC and All-Mideast Region selection and earned the "Big Stick" award from B-W for his excellent hitting. In addition for his efforts in the classroom and the baseball diamond, he was named to the first-team Verizon Academic All-District IV team and tabbed as an honorable mention Academic All-OAC selection. As a junior in 2002, Leffler played and started 36 games for B-W and lead the team with 55 hits and second on the team with a .410 average. He had nine doubles, two triples and seven home runs. Leffler was a first-team All-OAC, first-team All-Mideast Region, an OAC Tournament all-tournament team, first- team Academic All-OAC and first-team Verizon Academic All-District IV selection. As a senior in 2003, Leffler batted .319 with eight doubles, one triple, three homers and 22 RBI. He was named as a first-team All-OAC, third-team All-Mideast Region, first-team Academic All-OAC and first-team Verizon Academic All-District IV player.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at (440) 826-2327, via FAX machine at (440) 826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. To obtain all of the latest Yellow Jacket baseball information, please visit our athletics Web site at www.bw.edu/athletics. Then go to the baseball pages.